NKN

[Short general description]: NKN (New Kind of Network) is a new generation of highly scalable, self-evolving and self-incentivized blockchain network infrastructure. NKN addresses the network decentralization and self-evolution by introducing Cellular Automata (CA) methodology for both dynamism and efficiency. NKN tokenizes network connectivity and data transmission capacity by a novel and useful Proof of Work.

[Main contribution proposal]: NKN intends to revolutionize the entire network technology and business. NKN wants to be the Uber or Airbnb of the trillion-dollar communication service business, but without a central entity. NKN aspires to free the bits, and build the Internet we always wanted. NKN is the next generation of peer to peer network infrastructure built upon blockchain technology backed by Cellular Automata theory aiming at revolutionizing the Internet with true decentralization and native token incentive mechanism. NKN solves the “efficiency” problem of blockchain by equalizing all nodes in the network. Each node follows a rule of Cellular Automaton and updates its state based on local rules.

[Main problems tackled]:

1) Resource Utilization - A fully decentralized and anonymous peer-to-peer system offers huge potential in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability and safety for industry and society.

2) Net Neutrality & Fragmentation - Without a proper incentivizing engagement scheme, it is almost impossible to maintain a constant and secured information propagation channel.

1) A Useful Proof of Work - NKN proposes an alternative to the current PoW by providing a more decentralized, dynamically evolving, self-organizing and self-evolving network infrastructure and designing a whole new set of consensus mechanisms. The novel PoW does not result in a waste of resources. Instead, it is a peer-to-peer sharing mechanism at blockchain level. Participants receive rewards by contributing more network resources than they consume. NKN uses Proof of Relay mechanism to guarantee network connectivity and data transmission capacity

2) Network Topology and Routing - Cellular Automata on Networks (CAoN) is a natural extension of Cellular Automata that is able to model networks with non-geometric neighbor connections. It is powerful when modeling networks whose topology is evolving based on local rules. As the goal is to build a decentralized blockchain system with dynamic topology, CAoN is a natural model for the system.

3) Cellular automata powered consensus - Peers must evaluate information and make agreement on their actions for blockchain to work properly, NKN is designed to be a futuristic blockchain infrastructure that requires low latency, high bandwidth, extremely high scalability and low cost to reach consensus.

4) Proof of Relay - Consensus in NKN is driven by Proof of Relay (PoR), a useful Proof of Work (PoW) where the expected rewards a node gets depend on its network connectivity and data transmission power. Node proves its relay workload by adding digital signature when forwarding data, which is then accepted by the system through consensus algorithm. PoR is not a waste of resources since the work performed in PoR benefits the whole network by providing more transmission power.